SEC v. Craig H. Carton, et al. (ponzi schemes, 2018)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (sec-craig-h-carton-et-al-ponzi-schemes-2018) by email

In November 2018 the SEC reported that a federal jury had convicted radio host Craig Carton of securities and wire fraud over a ticket-resale scheme, and said its parallel civil case against him was continuing. On 31 May 2019 the court entered a final judgment against Carton and five of his companies, agreed with the SEC, ordering more than $4.7 million in disgorgement and interest that was deemed satisfied by his criminal restitution.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

—

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on November 8, 2018 as release LR-24343. The respondents named are Craig H. Carton, et al. (1 individual, 0 entities).

This library tags the matter as ponzi schemes, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

A later SEC release shows how the civil case ended. On 31 May 2019 the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Carton and five companies (AdvanceM, two Misoluki entities, Ticket Jones and Tier One Tickets). They settled, were permanently enjoined from further antifraud violations, and were ordered to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest together exceeding $4.7 million, which the SEC says is deemed satisfied by the restitution order in Carton's criminal case. In that case, following his November 2018 conviction at trial, he was sentenced in April 2019 to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay about $4.8 million in restitution and forfeit $4.59 million. The release gives only an approximate civil total, so no exact money figure is recorded here, and it does not say whether the defendants admitted the allegations.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Ponzi schemes — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2018-11-08 Litigation release published
2. 2019-05-31 Final judgment entered against Carton and five companies in the SEC case (settled)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release
• SEC litigation release LR-24485 (Carton final judgment)

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Same matter

The library links these 6 records because they appear to concern one matter: the same lead defendant, an overlapping technique tag and close filing dates, or a shared court docket or a release that cites the other. Records are listed by date filed.

This grouping is the library's, made by matching names, techniques, dates and citations when the site is built. It is not the regulator's or a court's determination that the records are one case, and it errs towards missing a link rather than making a false one.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.